That’s what the Home Affairs Committee suggested yesterday in their report titled, “The Roots of Violent Radicalisation.” The report comes from a study that began in May 2011 that found the Internet is the best vehicle to spread violence radicalism – more so than prisons, universities or places of worship. Witnesses told the Committee that the Internet contributed to most, if not all, cases of violent radicalisation.

It’s worth noting that the British government has powers under the Terrorism Act of 2006 to remove unlawful material from the Internet. The Committee recommends, however, that ISPs should be more proactive in monitoring the material that is on the Internet. They suggest that ISPs work with government to remove material that promotes violent extremism.

The Committee highlight three matters:

The need for better liaison and information-sharing between prison authorities, the police, the UK Border Agency and other relevant authorities following the release of prisoners who have been convicted of terrorist offences or who are otherwise considered to be at risk of violent radicalisation.

The importance of reviewing the list of proscribed organisations – the prospect of de-proscription could in certain circumstances create an incentive for organisations to renounce their support for violence.

The threat from the far-right, which consists mostly of solitary, disaffected individuals rather than organised terrorist units.

The group also said that the current name of their current counter-radicalisation strategy “Prevent” should be changed to “Engage” to promote a more supportive approach in working with those at risk.

The chairman of the Committee, Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP, had this to say on the proposed rules:

“The July 7th bombings in London, carried out by four men from West Yorkshire, were a powerful demonstration of the devastating and far-reaching impact of home-grown radicalisation.

We remain concerned by the growing support for non-violent extremism and more extreme and violent forms of far-right ideology.

The conviction last week of four men from London and Cardiff radicalised over the internet, for a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and launch a Mumbai-style atrocity on the streets of London, shows that we cannot let our vigilance slip. More resources need to be directed to these threats and to preventing radicalisation through the internet and in private spaces. These are the fertile breeding grounds for terrorism.

We do not believe universities are “complacent to the risks” of radicalisation as has been suggested. Those engaged in public life must ensure that the language they use reflects the same tone.

Individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds are vulnerable to radicalisation. There is no typical profile or pathway to becoming radicalised. It is a policy of engagement, not alienation that will successfully prevent radicalisation.”

The Committee has a point. There should be more effort directed at preventing people from falling into radical groups. I just don’t know if attempting to censor Web sites is the right way to go about it.

What do you think? Should governments be given control over the content of the Internet to prevent violence? Let us know in the comments.

[Lead image courtesy of suburbanslice on Flickr]

A week or so ago, Google announced that it would be partnering with traintimes.org.uk in order to provide live real-time maps of London’s Tube (that’s their public railway system for you non-British). By visiting the above site, you can get a glimpse of where each train is and, by mousing over each of the pins on the map, see an estimate of the train’s arrival time.

Additionally, if you visit the actual Google Maps UK site and enter your directions, by choosing the option for directions via public transportation you’ll see pins on the map of each Tube station that also includes arrival and departure times for different train lines.

Finally, Google has paired up with the London and Wales government in order to apply crime statistics to Maps so that residents and travelers alike can see the types and density of crimes that have been committed in certain postcodes. Users can distinguish between what kind of crime stats they want to see (I guess so that people can assess their risk of becoming arson victims or burglary or the ominous “anti-social behaviour”).

Given that it’s just now January, I expect that Google will continue to enhance their Maps data for London as the Olympics approaches, such as interior floor maps of stadiums and well-populated hotels.

The issue is of some importance to followers of this long news saga, some of whom shared their reactions on Twitter. Due to Assange’s polarizing stature, the tones unsurprisingly ranged from welcoming to weary:

Assange has managed to stay involved in the activities of Wikileaks, most recently appearing at a conference earlier this month in London to speak about government surveillance. Given that it’s taken over a year of judicial foot-dragging to even get to this point, hopefully the brevity of the hearing – two days – will hasten the process of whether Assange ends up getting extradited to Sweden. Have any of you been following this case (I know, it’s kind of easy to forget about given how long it’s stretched on)? What do you think about Assange being granted a hearing next year? Agree or disagree? Comment with your opinion below.

You wouldn’t blog about it, tweet it or write on your wall about it. Would you?

No such worries for a woman juror in Burnley, UK, who ran a poll on Facebook asking her friends to vote on whether they thought the accused were guilty or not.

[…] The woman posted details of the child abduction and sex assault case on the website. Then she told friends: “I don’t know which way to go, so I’m holding a poll.”

Jurors are forbidden from discussing details of cases even with their closest family members. The woman was dismissed after a tip-off to Burnley Crown Court, Lancs. The trial continued with 11 jurors. It was thought she did not use privacy settings, meaning the Facebook posts could be read by anyone.

Last night a legal source said the juror could have been charged with contempt of court — and the trial scrapped. The expert added: “It defies belief. She obviously has no grasp of how the judicial process works in this country. She had been asking her mates what they thought — and some people came back with guilty verdicts.”

Amazing but true according to The Sun and lots of mainstream media reports, via BrandRepublic.

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From an initial idea by Tony Scott, the concept starting gaining traction last week via a mailing list discussion.

Now, it’s becoming more official and organized with formal support from Automattic, the company behind WordPress, with a wiki as the place to focus planning and organization for what will be the first UK WordCamp.

What’s a WordCamp? you might be wondering. Here’s a succinct explanation:

WordCamp is an informal gathering of WordPress bloggers, podcasters, designers and developers.

An unconference might be another way to describe it. Maybe along the lines of PodCamp UK last year (which was a terrific experience).

Neither the venue nor the dates are known yet. But if you’re interested, dive in and join the planning discussions.

Whenever it happens, I definitely want to be there!

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